Darryl O'Young back to his favourite hunting ground at the Macau Grand Prix
Hong Kong's Darryl O'Young will return to his favourite hunting ground at next month's Macau Grand Prix with a new livery and a custom-designed and modified Aston Martin as he attempts to make it six race victories in 11 years.
The Canadian-born driver will compete in the ultra-competitive Macau GT Cup in his VLT (Vita Lemon Tea) sponsored Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 race car, hoping to add another victory to his list of achievements on the Guia circuit. The race will be competed over 12 laps on Sunday, November 16.
O'Young last won the Macau GT Cup in 2008 - he was second in 2009 - but has had a string of successes in the Macau leg of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series, last becoming overall champion also in 2008.
"Macau is the biggest race for me [for the season]. It's the first time in five years I am competing in the Macau GT Cup because after 2009 I was competing in the World Touring Car Championships. This year, I am going to miss the Bahrain leg [of the World Endurance Championships] because Macau clashes with that race. This is my eleventh year racing in Macau," said O'Young.
"It's been a great season for me because I recently had my first podium finish [in his class] in the last leg of the World Endurance Championships in Fuji. It has definitely boosted my confidence for Macau."
“Right now the entry list is very impressive. There are 15 or 16 drivers who can win the race. We also got this year’s DTM champion Marco Wittman [of Germany] and fellow DTM competitor [Augusto Farfus] from Brazil [both from BMW]."
Italian ace Edoardo Mortara - unbeaten in every event he has competed in Macau since 2009 - will be among the favourites to take the chequered flag for Audi.
“A podium finish would be strong but of course everybody is going for a win. With this kind of field, it’s really a toss up to see who drives the best. I’m not going to think too much about it and I’m hoping to just drive well and I think the results will come.
"It’s really great to work with a Hong Kong brand [VLT] and with a Hong Kong team, and combined with a home race, all these things will give me the boost hopefully to win the race,” said O’Young.